Amid mounting speculations over the actual cause of the fatal Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, the head of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) warned that the media reports regarding the aviation disaster are premature and lack proper investigative context.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy's comments came amid an ongoing row over The Wall Street Journal's unverified and selective reporting regarding a pilot’s alleged role in the Air India Flight 171 crash that killed 260 people.
Criticising media's unfounded assumptions and reporting on the incident, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said, "Recent media reports on the Air India 171 crash are premature and speculative. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau just released its preliminary report. Investigations of this magnitude take time. We fully support the AAIB’s public appeal, which was released Thursday, and will continue to support its ongoing investigation. All investigative questions should be addressed to the AAIB."
Further emphasising that the AAIB remains the lead investigative body in the case, Homendy said, “We fully support the AAIB’s public appeal, which was released Thursday, and will continue to support its ongoing investigation. All investigative questions should be addressed to the AAIB."
AAIB's Preliminary Report
The preliminary report had sparked speculation about the cause of the crash. The report had focused on the operation of a fuel control switch. In its preliminary report, AAIB found that the fuel supply to both engines of Air India flight AI171 was cut off, which caused confusion in the cockpit and led to the plane crash.
The preliminary findings mentioned that both fuel control switches of the Boeing 787 aircraft were flipped from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” within seconds of take-off from Ahmedabad, which led to engine shutdown. One of the pilots was heard asking the other why he cut off, and the latter responded, saying he did not do.
AAIB Rejects WSJ Report
AAIB on Thursday criticised The Wall Street Journal for what it called "unverified and selective reporting" regarding a pilot’s alleged role in the Air India Flight 171 crash that killed 260 people.
Citing an assessment by US officials, the WSJ reported that the black box recordings of the Air India flight suggested that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal turned off the fuel control switches just seconds after Air India Flight 171 crashed into a resident doctors' hostel in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff.
In a statement, the AAIB said it was premature to conclude and added that the investigation into the plane crash is still underway. The bureau noted that its preliminary findings are meant only to outline what happened and urged restraint until the final report is released.
Pilots' Bodies Smell Bias
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) expressed dissatisfaction with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary probe report on the June 12 Air India plane crash, which was released last week. Sources told PTI that the pilots' body has penned a letter to the civil aviation ministry raising various concerns related to the crash probe.
“The report lacks comprehensive data and appears to rely on selective paraphrasing to question the competence and integrity of the crew. This approach is neither objective nor complete,” the FIP noted, urging the public to refrain from drawing conclusions based on initial findings.
Earlier, underscoring the possibility of a bias towards pilot error in the preliminary report, the Air Line Pilots' Association of India (ALPA) on Saturday demanded a fair and fact-based probe.
"The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias towards pilot error... ALPA India categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry," Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA) said in a statement.
FIP has also objected to the exclusion of pilot representatives from the investigation and called for a thorough, transparent, and data-driven probe before any conclusions were drawn.
“Assigning blame before a complete and fair investigation is both premature and irresponsible. Such commentary undermines the professionalism of trained crew members and causes unnecessary distress to their families and colleagues,” the FIP said in a statement.
